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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28717851">Honor Among Elves</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristineThalassinou1990/pseuds/ChristineThalassinou1990'>ChristineThalassinou1990</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sickmuse23/pseuds/Sickmuse23'>Sickmuse23</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game), The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abandonment Issues, Alternate Universe, Anti-Glorfindel, Anti-Lindir, Arwen Needs a Hug, Arwen and Elrond Are On Very Bad Terms, Celebrimbor Is The Collective Kid of the Team, Crack Crossover, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Círdan Is a Jerk, Elrond &amp; Gil Bonding, Elrond Needs a Hug, Elrond's Biological Parents Are Trash, Elves With Force-powers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Aragorn/Arwen, Established Legolas/Gimli, Established Relationship, For Every Valar's Sake Don't Take It Seriously, Force Ghost(s), Gil's Not Gonna Be High King, Gil-Galad Too, Good Boyfriend Aragorn, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Multi, OOC everyone, Permanent Injury, Protective Bard the Bowman, Swearing, The Authors Regret Absolutely Nothing, Thranduil needs a hug, Timeline What Timeline, We Know Shit About Hacking, but an adorable one</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:01:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,965</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28717851</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristineThalassinou1990/pseuds/ChristineThalassinou1990, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sickmuse23/pseuds/Sickmuse23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the characters of Tolkien lived in the Star Wars universe and had Force-powers? What a few deeply traumatized, criminal elves can achieve in the harsh time of the Old Republic?</p><p>A fic written purely for amusement, the amusement of me and my co-writer Sickmuse23. Please do mind the tag 'Crack Treated Seriously'.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aragorn &amp; Legolas &amp; Gimli, Aragorn/Arwen, Elrond &amp; Thranduil, Elrond &amp; Thranduil &amp; Bard, Elrond &amp; Thranduil &amp; Círdan, Elrond Peredhel &amp; Ereinion Gil-galad, Legolas/Gimli, Thranduil &amp; Bard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay, first of all: every single Tolkien purist who managed to find this trainwreck of a fic by a cosmic coincidence please read the tags and flee screaming accordingly, because we're not gonna take any responsibility for their brains leaking out of their ears.<br/>Secondly, this fic is a very massive AU, an even more massive Crack, and even we, the writers, don't know what the hell is the meaning of all of this; however, we do enjoy it pretty much.<br/>If you're still here and up for a trip of pure, unadulterated mindfuck, then welcome and we wish you have fun reading this fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Right, you've about three minutes, so be quick!" Bard said to the jumpy elf named Elrond standing beside him as he sliced into the security system of Glorfindel's manor. It wasn't as hard as some he'd seen and completely trolled already, but it was formidable enough to pose a challenge.</p><p>Not an hour ago, they were ambushed by a bunch of dwarves in that very manor, and the third member of their little team, Thranduil, had been captured and most probably tortured since. Bard and Elrond could barely escape with their lives, but they were definitely not about to leave their friend behind. So now Bard crouched on the roof with his portable computer and his admired spikes, disabling as many traps and reinforced doors as he could so Elrond would have a more or less clear path to Thranduil.</p><p>"Where are they?" the dark-haired elf asked.</p><p>"Not too far from here, below us, but the nearest door's..." Bard began, but Elrond just nodded, took a few steps back then simply made the roof collapse under himself with a concentrated kinetic blast.</p><p>"Who the fuck needs doors?" Bard heard Elrond's deep, smug voice in his ear-piece.</p><p>"Language!" the slicer groaned under his breath, but the only answer was an amused chuckle.</p><p>In the moment Elrond landed, he channelled a strong Force-shield around himself, and it saved him from the blades of the three guards that were waiting for him. Poor guys weren't expecting such a resistance, so the sorcerer easily disarmed and knocked them out then headed toward the door nearby, sending some Force-lightning into the opening panel. It yielded in mere seconds, and the door opened, revealing a room with at least four dwarves and two elves, one of them lying unconscious on the floor. Elrond used their surprise to his own advantage to the very last drop he could squeeze out of the situation, and his first move was to paralyse the enemy targets with a well-timed stasis field, disabling all of them at once. He knew he couldn't keep this up for too long, and he'd already used up at least two minutes out of the three Bard could give him to get Thrandy and escape. So the sorcerer didn't waste his precious seconds to kill anyone, he just grabbed Thranduil's twin lightsabers from Thorin's belt, ready to leave.</p><p>"You're gonna pay for this, you little piece of shit!" he hissed into the dwarf's face, and although Thorin couldn't answer due to the stasis field, Elrond saw in his eyes that he understood every word perfectly well. Good.</p><p>In this moment, Thrandy moaned weakly, still more or less knocked out, so Elrond didn't even try to ask if he could walk, he just picked him up and ran, using the Force to give him strength and speed. He needed both desperately. He kept the stasis field in place as long as he could, but with the distance growing between him and his targets, it inevitably faded then disappeared before Elrond could reach the nearest gate. He knew it was dangerous, but when he heard Glorfindel and the dwarves catching up behind him, the sorcerer made the roof collapse, hoping it would be big enough of an obstacle to give him time to escape.</p><p>"Just get outside of the gate!" he suddenly heard Bard's voice coming from his ear-piece, and Elrond did as he was told without the slightest of hesitation.</p><p>He blasted the gate out of its place with one single kinetic blast, and he could've wept in relief when he saw the slicer sitting in that motherfucker Glorfindel's own speeder and waiting for them loyally.</p><p>"Punch it!" Elrond snapped when he got into the backseat with the still half-unconscious Thranduil, and Bard did so without a word.</p><p>Elrond barely realized that his hands were trembling slightly because of exhaustion; he'd slept very little in the last two weeks, and now he'd used too much of his power in too little time, which practice could be harmful even for a sorcerer as strong as he was. But he couldn't rest, not before he helped Thranduil. As if he'd guessed what he was thinking, Bard tossed something to Elrond above his shoulder: a first aid kit.</p><p>"Thanks" the elf muttered, already examining the blonde's injuries.</p><p>Thrandy was bleeding heavily, the left side of his face was one big wound, Elrond even saw bone at one point, under his eye, which most probably was damaged too badly to save it. When Thrandy coughed up blood, the sorcerer knew that they didn't have too much time to get help. He did what he could, using both the first aid kit and his own Force-healing skill, but he still wasn't completely sure that it would be enough.</p><p>In the meantime, a volley of blaster fire showered on the fleeing party. Thorin’s nephews, Fili and Kili, were chasing them on their own speeders relentlessly. One of them managed to shot Bard in the arm, who let out a painful hiss without releasing the handle. In his grim determination, nothing could force him to surrender his friends to these filthy dwarves.</p><p>"We’ve got company!" he shouted back to Elrond, who ducked before receiving any damage, and seeking refuge in the small cargo hold.</p><p>An unintelligible curse came from Kili as he attempted to maintain his balance while shooting at the slicer – an obscene word, alien to Bard’s ears, which was most fortunate. Deducting from Thranduil’s irritated moaning and the weak tapping of his fingers on Elrond’s arm, the latter suspected his friend was about to stir up. But now was not the time for him to fight – even if Thranduil had been restless since time immemorial.</p><p>"Rest now" Elrond sent him a gentle Force-suggestion, raising his palm.</p><p>Although Thranduil gritted his teeth – whether the gesture was caused by pain or defiance, it’s unknown –, he obeyed the soothing words nonetheless. His headache pierced through Elrond’s mind like a thousand needles as he was massaging his temples. Such fatigue and tremendous display of healing skills had taken a toll on him, and he knew he was about to risk his health if he reached out to the Force once more. But he just didn’t care.</p><p>"We must cut down the chase" Elrond declared in the booming crescendo of blaster fire and dwarven cursing.</p><p>"Agreed, but this mountain path won’t end soon enough" Bard added, briefly looking at their pursuers. "If you want to come up with something, do it now."</p><p>"Don’t fret, I’ve already got an idea. Stop."</p><p>Bard couldn’t believe his ears.</p><p>"Wait, what?! You can’t be serious!"</p><p>"I am dead serious, Bard" Elrond eyed him with a grim look, cold as ice. "Stop the damn speeder."</p><p>Bard couldn't do anything but obey. One didn’t need Force-sensitivity to determine how furious Elrond was. His anger was a boiling, ceaseless chasm, planted in his chest – and he was more than ready to share its fire with those bastards. Elrond stepped out of the hold, embracing the Force as it ran through his veins. Startled by the unexpected change of plans, Fili and Kili seemed to lower their speed, but only for a mere second. A shield of violet, swirling energy enveloped Elrond and absorbed the incoming damage.</p><p>"The fuck is that…?" the party could hear Kili’s astonished cry.</p><p>Fili didn’t reply, instead, he fired shots even more rapidly, causing his hand to shake in desperation. But the Force swallowed it all. Then Elrond smiled.</p><p>Instead of catching the rogue sorcerer, Fili and Kili faced a sweeping explosion of Elrond’s Force-shield. But for their highly advanced tech-suit, this outburst would’ve burnt them alive. In this case, they only had to suffer a larger throwback that caused Fili to fall off the cliff and into the abyss of the wild overgrowth. Elrond didn’t hope to end his life though: Thorin &amp; Co. were a crafty bunch. Those jetpacks they carried weren’t there for show.</p><p>Unfortunately, the explosion didn't only endanger their adversaries. Although Bard succeeded in preventing the fall by activating the boosters of the speeder, the wild burst of the Force set loose some rocks on the mountainside. And the falling debris now was on its way to crush Elrond below them, writhing in agony.</p><p>"Elrond, watch out!" Bard cried out, paled.</p><p>Overcoming his immediate fear, he prepared to turn back his vehicle to rush for his friend's rescue, when Thranduil grabbed the edge of the hold and rose.</p><p>"I'll... take care of this."</p><p>In the last second, the crumbling rocks halted in mid-air, due to the telekinetic powers of the other elf.</p><p>Elrond sobered and shot a startled gaze at the debris above him.</p><p>"Can you move your ass now, or should I move it for you?" The raspy voice of his wounded friend finally urged Elrond to act.</p><p>With an agile jump, he landed on the cargo hold and thanked Thranduil for the rescue.</p><p>"Anytime, friend" the other sighed as he leaned back on the platform, drained. His face was a painful sight, but Elrond couldn't do more for him right now. Bard didn't have to be told they were done here, and he activated the boosters to drive off with the deadly rocks rolling at their backs. "Good riddance, you dwarven… filth."</p><p>Elrond smiled at his friend's weak attempt to swear and finally let darkness shrouding his mind for a long, well-deserved sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"My nephews reported that the elves had escaped with the human's aid, and our radars couldn't determine their current position." Thorin stormed into the room with heavy steps, talking to Glorfindel. "Our transmitters in the Old Forest must have been sliced by that wretched human. But they won't hide from me, I give you my word."</p><p>Glorfindel didn't turn away from the wondrous landscape presented by his balcony to face the mercenary leader fuming in anger. Thorin would rather decapitate the arrogant fool with his vibroaxe than reporting his failure to him as if the elf was his superior. However, even he wouldn't have risked a one-on-one fight with such a powerful Force-user like Glorfindel was. Additionally, it would have taken precious time from hunting down the robbers of Bank Erebor.</p><p>"Of course, they won't" Glorfindel stated, his sharp features bathing in the first, argent rays of the sun. "Rivendell is the nearest, cultured establishment in this area. Given the wounds of the renegade warrior, there is no doubt they are seeking sanctuary in that city. And that is where you and your folk shall corner them."</p><p>A furrow materialized on Thorin's bushy eyebrow. <em>Provided you'd lifted a single finger, they would be dead by now</em>, he thought to himself, annoyed. Only he had forgotten the elf had been reading his thoughts.</p><p>"Oh no, I did not wish to end their miserable life just yet" Glorfindel smirked, amused. "This was only an educative lesson for those who disgrace our Order."</p><p>"Hmmph" Thorin growled, steeling his features. "We're not one of the same minds then", he said and cracked his knuckles.</p><p>"Fortunately so. You may leave now. Good hunting… dwarf." With their conversation considered as concluded, Glorfindel swoop the delicate hairbrush from his desk and resumed brushing his unbelievably long hair.</p><p>Thorin shook his head as he exited the elevated room then lighted a fat cigar.</p><p>"By Durin's beard, elves are insufferable."</p><p>xxx</p><p>Meanwhile, Bard indeed reached Rivendell with two knocked out, wounded elves in the tiny cargo hold. He wondered fleetingly how they fitted into such a small place, for Thranduil was almost two meters tall, and Elrond was very close to 190 cm as well, and both of them were lithe, finely muscled creatures. But he knew it wasn't important at all right now.</p><p>Bard considered avoiding Rivendell altogether, for he was sure that it would be the first place Thorin and that bloody elf would look for them, but Thrandy's injuries desperately needed professional help, and Elrond could use some undisturbed sleep in a comfortable bed as well. So with a sigh, the slicer headed toward Thranduil's stronghold at the very edge of the city; at least that place was well-defended with deadly traps and a security system even Bard had not been able to disable yet, not for once. They should be safe there for the time being.</p><p>After about twenty minutes, he stopped the speeder in the underground garage of the building and jumped out of the vehicle. He hated himself for doing this, but as he wasn't a Force-sensitive with incredible telekinetic powers, he couldn't carry the elves upstairs, so he needed to wake Elrond up to help him.</p><p>"Hey, Sleeping Beauty" he called the sleeping elf gently, stroking his messy dark hair and pointy ear with the kind of tenderness mothers caressed their child. "Wake up, sleepyhead, I need you to help me."</p><p>Elrond stirred, opening his stormy grey eyes grudgingly; he definitely didn't take the disturbance well. However, he got up without complaining, helping Bard to support the barely conscious Thranduil to his room, stripping him and cleaning his wounds carefully before bandaging them again.</p><p>"Can you do something with his eye?" Bard asked, his voice trembling slightly; seeing his best friend in such a state was very hard on him.</p><p>"No... I'm sorry, but... no. That fucking dwarf made sure that... it'd be a permanent injury." Elrond swallowed his boiling anger for the time being; it wouldn't have helped any of them right now. "He'd need a biomech transplant when he's well enough for the surgery."</p><p>Bard nodded, barely able to hide the trembling of his hands. Thorin and his filthy friends would pay for it, very dearly, he promised to himself.</p><p>"We're safe now, and Thranduil's gonna be fine, he just needs time to heal. That's the only thing that matters now" Elrond said, and it was strange of him to be so reasonable and calm in such a situation; perhaps the elf finally grew up, Bard thought.</p><p>"Yeah, you're right" the slicer sighed tiredly. "We should get some sleep. Sorry to say that, but you look like death warmed up."</p><p>Elrond snorted, but he knew that his friend was most probably right. And to be honest, he felt pretty much the same.</p><p>"I'm gonna stay here, in case of... anything" he said, and after a nod, Bard left the room.</p><p>Elrond made sure that Thranduil was as comfortable as possible, then he curled up in the end of the huge bed and fell asleep in a minute.</p><p>xxx</p><p>After a few days, all of them felt significantly better, even Thranduil, who had a problem at first with the fact of his new disability of half-blindness. It took him a few hours of reeling between crushing desperation and all-consuming rage before he calmed down enough to listen to Elrond's explanation of possible treatments.</p><p>"It doesn't have to be this way forever. As soon as the tissues and muscles are healed enough, you can get a biomechanical implant" the dark-haired elf said, but Bard, who sat beside Thranduil on the bed and stroked his back as a silent support, felt a disgusted shiver running through him. Thrandy was a true child of nature, born in the beautiful realm of Greenwood. Bard knew he'd have never accepted anything that turned him into something he considered unnatural; and elves in general considered implants and other mechanical modification of the body pretty much unnatural, even in case of mutilating injuries like Thrandy's was.</p><p>"If I were a human... maybe then I could do this. But not as an elf" Thranduil whispered, his voice raspy with barely held-back tears; he was still weak from the considerable blood loss he'd suffered, and now this emotional rollercoaster made him want to just curl up in his bed and cry himself to sleep. He was so bloody tired.</p><p>Elrond nodded, understanding it perfectly.</p><p>"Right. Try to get some sleep now, okay? We'll figure something out, I promise" he said gently, and soon Thrandy was indeed asleep, curled up into a tight ball under his warm blanket.</p><p>Elrond left the room after a last concerned glance then went to check his supplies of herbs and other medicines, only to realize that he needed to go home for a few things if he wanted to care after Thrandy as best as possible. Now, that wasn't a trip he was particularly looking forward to make.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elrond borrowed one of Thranduil’s speeders waiting for him in the garage, which was in all likelihood stolen from a tight-up noble of Rivendell. Those spoiled children needed fewer toys anyway, in order to learn the value of property. The sorcerer slid along the main street bustling with life. He turned the crowd to his advantage, melting into the vivid cavalcade of faces. Since his birth, he’d been fascinated by the ancient architecture of his home, paired with the wonders of modern technology – although, he had no love for those dull-looking skyscrapers in the city centre. Elrond always longed for the hidden groves and gardens, placed delicately along the walls of an era long passed on separate platforms under the artificial waterfalls. Many times, a similar place provided a solitary rendezvous spot for Elrond and his future wife, Celebrían, away from her parents’ leery eyes. The woman of his life, who was now gone for so long that their precious time together seemed as if it had been only a part of his imagination. A dream forever corrupted by an ancient evil, and his failure as a father. Perhaps the latter was even worse.</p><p>By the time he arrived at his daughter’s modest accommodation, formerly being home to the whole family, Elrond had purged any stain of grief and regret from his mind. Provided Arwen sensed negative emotions within his aura, their conversation would most likely to be doomed from the start. The dark-haired elf took the elevator to the highest level, and drawing a deep breath, he pushed the bell beside the apartment’s outdated door.</p><p>But no answer came. Frowning, Elrond repeated his previous action, but the situation remained unchanged. He began losing his temper, especially in the light of the recent events. After Thranduil having been permanently blinded on one eye, he just couldn’t bear the thought of any harm befallen on his daughter.</p><p>"Arwen?" he uttered her name anxiously.</p><p>Maybe there was really nothing to worry about: she could always have gone shopping, or to the central hospital for work. She was simply away, and that’s the end of it. Then why did he have the feeling that something had gone terribly awry? And his connection with the Force rarely betrayed him…</p><p>"Arwen? Arwen!" He couldn’t help but knocking on the door as vehemently as he dared without drawing the attention of the neighbours.</p><p>Moreover, he even considered slicing the door open by calibrating the console where the bell was located – he’d got some tips and tricks from Bard on how to manage that without activating the security system of a place –, when Arwen finally showed up, in her sleeping gown.</p><p>"Ada, what are you doing here at this time of the day?" She didn’t seem to be overjoyed, to put it nicely, by her father’s reappearance. "Why didn’t you call me before visit?"</p><p>"I could ask you the same, but I see now you’ve been only taking a nap." Elrond was fidgeting with his fingers as he talked. "I apologize for… khm…"</p><p>"Almost tearing my door apart for no valid reason?"</p><p>"Yes… indeed. I was just concerned for your well-being."</p><p>Arwen’s lips were pressed into a thin line.</p><p>"How nice of you to worry so much" she said wryly, propping one hand on her hip. "Even Grandmother’s sensed it from Lórien. You should make that a habit to keep her occupied."</p><p>Elrond grew pale at his daughter’s insolence, but he lacked the mood and time for a trivial quarrel.</p><p>"Please, Arwen, not now" he raised his opened palm, surrendering. "One of my friends needs professional medical attention. Or supplies, at least. And I won’t disturb you any further, I promise."</p><p>This proposition gave Arwen some thought. Elrond could feel her irritation and anger slowly dissipating, similar to a cat withdrawing its talons to give way to her caring nature.</p><p>"Fine, describe me the ailment and I’ll prepare a pack for you."</p><p>Elrond told her about Thrandy’s injury while being careful not to mention how he’d actually received it. Arwen nodded without a word and signalled her father to follow her into the hall, then she retreated into one of her hidden rooms. An old service droid offered him sweet nectar, which he politely refused. He was baffled by how much his old home had changed, not bearing any resemblance to the version he’d seen a few years ago. But there was something more that caused him vexing irritation. As if the whole place was radiating from inside. The Light side of the Force was dominating the Dark with such intensity he’d rarely experienced on this planet.</p><p>The Elves of Arda believed in the balance of the two sides – only with understanding both could one truly master oneself. Only humans were fond of extremities and the conflict of opposition. No wonder they were engaged in an endless, futile war against each other, until the seemingly inevitable final destruction of their short-living race. Even Elrond tried to avoid embracing the Dark side at its full potential, although that seemed an uphill battle.</p><p>Something was not quite right here… The elf extended the tendrils of his mind to search for the possible source of the tremendous Light side energy. But what he found wasn’t pleasing him in the least. Emotional imprints of merriness, devotion, and… lust filled the entire flat, especially upstairs. These were only minor signs, but he was damn sure he could find out more if he could reach the next half-level. Ensuring his daughter wouldn’t return in the next moment or so, Elrond sneaked up on the stairs with silent steps, letting the Force guide him. It led him to a far room on the balcony, which was seemingly consumed by the Light side so much that it almost made the elf sick. It was either Arwen, who had been practicing some potent healing ritual, or someone else was standing behind that door.</p><p>With Force-lightning already crackling between his fingers, Elrond abruptly pushed the console on the wall to get the door open… to find a human male in a colourless robe, fastening his belt. As if the human was prepared for the attack, he dived for cover as the deadly bolt scorched the painting behind him.</p><p>"What the motherfucking Valinor are you doing in my daughter’s home?!" Elrond yelled furiously at the intruder.</p><p>"I don’t mean to fight with you." The human’s voice was strangely calm for someone nearly burnt alive. "I’ve come with peaceful intentions."</p><p>"But I haven’t" Elrond hissed as he launched another Force-bolt at the human.</p><p>However, before it could've ripped him in half, as it did with the desk in front of him, a Force-shield enveloped the intruder, completely swallowing any incoming damage.</p><p>"What have you done, ada?!" Elrond could hear his daughter’s voice from afar. Even her desperate grab on his arm felt distant now. "Have you gone completely mad? He is with me!"</p><p>"You’ve let a human fuck you? A dirty, two-faced Jedi of all things?!" the elf turned to Arwen.</p><p>Now, her face twisted with raw fury, it was Arwen’s turn to yell at him.</p><p>"Yes, I've let him fuck me. And you know why? Because he loves me, cares for me. Unlike <em>you</em>."</p><p>"Stop it, Arwen" Elrond scolded her. "This is utterly ridiculous."</p><p>"Is it? You’ve broken into my room and attacked a man you don’t even know, while almost setting everything on fire. How does that sound?"</p><p>Elrond sobered as he lowered his arms.</p><p>"I’m sorry, but I still can’t let this <em>human</em> stay here."</p><p>"This is my house now." Burning tears of anger filled Arwen’s doe eyes. "After you abandoned it, I do with it as I see fit. Whatever I want. Whomever I want. And I don’t want to see you here ever again. Grab your things down below, and get out of MY life!"</p><p>As she grew silent, she pushed her father’s arm away, hurt and devastated. Elrond exchanged a few hostile glances with the Jedi then turned his back on them. Leaving, he saw Arwen falling on her knees and surrendering to her vehement sobbing as the Jedi hugged her from behind. The sorrow emanating from her was truly heartbreaking.</p><p>Elrond could barely stop himself from turning back and trying to comfort Arwen, but he knew it would've only made things much worse. So he gritted his teeth and continued his way downstairs, where he grabbed the pack Arwen had put together for him then left the apartment.</p><p>As he sped through the streets of Rivendell, he couldn't help replaying that damned encounter again and again in his mind. He was still mad at Arwen for getting together with a Jedi, moreover, with a human, for fuck's sake, but the bigger half of his irrevocably damaged soul was just bleeding for her, and he felt like a last piece of shit for hurting her like this. He knew perfectly well that she had every right to hate and never want to see him again.</p><p>After he'd lost his wife, he just couldn't get himself together again, not even for the sake of Arwen. He'd been trying very hard for a long time, he felt like it was his duty toward her to do so, but nearly fifty years ago, he simply broke. He just couldn't take it anymore, to stay in a place that only reminded him of his fucked up life and destroyed dreams, so one day he left it without the slightest intention of ever turning back. Arwen had had her job in the hospital by then, she earned her own income, so he didn't feel<em> that</em> bad for leaving, but it was still an intensely painful decision for him. He hated leaving his child behind, but he firmly believed that Arwen was better off without a father who couldn't be that for her, who was damaged far beyond repair. So Elrond left with only a bag of clothes and some money for surviving, passing everything else on his daughter, the jewels, the bank accounts, even the apartment itself. He didn't want anything that would've reminded him of his home that he'd lost long before he'd actually left it.</p><p>The elf had to pull over and stop the speeder before he would've caused an accident – he couldn't see a thing because of the tears burning in his eyes. At first, he tried to fight them, but then he thought that it'd still be better to cry himself dry now, before he'd get back, so his friends wouldn't be worried about him or ask uncomfortable questions. So he buried his face into his hands and just let the despair and sadness crashing down on him, sobbing uncontrollably; not unlike his daughter did not long ago.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thranduil didn't know what woke him, but as he became more aware, he felt a mild disturbance in the Force, coming from somewhere close. It wasn't danger, more like a feel of bone-deep anguish, but he was still too tired to really care. His wounds hurt, and he still trembled with rage when he thought about what Thorin and Glorfindel had done to him.</p><p>He curled up, intent to sleep back, at least he wouldn't feel anything while being dead to the world, but then he suddenly felt a presence beside himself on the bed. His remaining eye snapped open as he sat up, only to almost fall back when a wave of dizziness ran through him. He still didn't really get used to the changed perspective of the world around him.</p><p>As Thranduil turned his head, he saw the transparent, incorporeal form of his father, sitting calmly on the edge of the bed. Oropher had become one with the Force more than a hundred years ago, but he remained in this world as a ghost, knowing all too well that Thrandy couldn't have dealt with losing him entirely.</p><p>"Hi, dad..." the wounded elf sighed sadly; as every time when Oropher showed up, he felt an overwhelming mix of joy and crushing loss and pain. This time, the latter was stronger.</p><p>"Hello, son" the ghost answered, and even in his current form, the warm fondness in his eyes was almost palpable.</p><p>Thrandy knew that he was amongst the lucky few with his parents, for both his father and mother loved him very much, and they had a good relationship even during Thrandy's time in the Order. Almost everyone else around him had problems with their parents on a varying scale, with Elrond on the end of this scale; the dark-haired sorcerer hated his parents with white-hot intensity for abandoning him and his twin brother when they were still just children. Thranduil couldn't really blame him for that.</p><p>"That's not the end of you" Oropher said, touching the wounded side of his son's face gently.</p><p>"I know... It's just... Well, it doesn't feel like that right now" Thrandy muttered, wishing with all of his heart that he could've felt that touch; he sometimes missed his father so much it physically hurt.</p><p>"It will. With time, it will." Oropher didn't say more, but his mere presence filled Thranduil with hope and strength.</p><p>He'd endure this, and he'd become stronger for it; and when he'd be recovered, Thorin and Glorfindel would beg for his mercy, completely in vain.</p><p>"It's time for me to go" the ghost said after a long while, stroking Thrandy's shoulder with his incorporeal but not a bit less gentle hand. "Your friend needs you." With these mysterious words, Oropher disappeared from the room.</p><p>After a few minutes, Thrandy gathered enough strength to get up and actually make an errand in the house; in the last few days, he only visited the bathroom attached to his bedroom. Eventually, he did find that friend in need: Elrond was sitting in the kitchen, his whole posture screaming defeat and despair, and when Thrandy saw the whole bucket of ice cream before him, he knew that something really bad must've happened. An Elrond with a whole bucket of ice cream at 3 a.m. in the kitchen was a dead sure sign of some huge shitstorm.</p><p>The blonde elf approached the other slowly, not wanting to scare him, then touched his slumped shoulder gently.</p><p>"What happened?" Thrandy asked.</p><p>The only answer was a strangled sob, and Thranduil felt his heart breaking a bit; he hated seeing Elrond cry, and it happened more often than he'd have liked. 'Difficult' was a cruel understatement of Elrond's emotional state.</p><p>Some might've believed that Elrond and Thranduil weren’t on very good terms, given their rough attitude, but the truth was quite the opposite. For a time, it was just them against the entire world. Sure, Bard had gradually become a close friend to them, especially to the blonde, but there was something that had formed an inseparable bond between the two elves. Something that reminded them they were not alone.</p><p>"I’m a terrible, shit, fucking father" Elrond muttered into Thranduil’s ear as the other hugged him as an attempt to console him.</p><p>His words were nearly incomprehensible, but Thrandy understood them nonetheless.</p><p>"That makes two of us" he sighed bitterly.</p><p>"They’ve just grown up without us, haven’t they? Without us seeing what has become of them. A little while ago, my daughter was only an enthusiastic, naïve brat who kept asking for the same bedtime story. The one with an elven lady and a human falling in love with each other, and in order to be accepted as a couple, they break into the evil lord’s lair to steal some stupid gem for the girl’s father. I’ve never thought she took that story to her heart so much she’s willingly chosen a human for her partner."</p><p>For once in his life of uncountable years, Thrandy felt short on words. When Elrond stopped trembling in his arms, he released him with a pat on his arm.</p><p>"Khm, well..." he began, puzzled. "At least, her... significant other is not a dwarf. Those sons of bitches don’t expire with only a hundred years passing. Humans, though, are a different kind. You can wait until he bites to dust without worrying about the introduction of the next transmitter generation."</p><p>This gave Elrond a good laugh. "Maybe it isn’t that great of a deal, then."</p><p>"Listen, you’re looking at the wrong person for fixing family-issues, but know this: if this guy ever harms her, kill him without regret."</p><p>"Provided she hadn’t banned me of her apartment and the whole neighbourhood, it would be much easier."</p><p>"Why?" the blonde raised a curious eyebrow. "What did you do to earn this honour?"</p><p>"I took your advice in advance" Elrond confessed, shamefully twisting his lips.</p><p>It was Thrandy’s turn to let out a genuine laugh.</p><p>"No kidding! That explains everything."</p><p>"It’s not funny, alright? Now, Arwen hates my guts even more. I know I was acting like an idiot, but that Jedi was in her very room, I couldn’t help it."</p><p>"Oh? A Jedi? Then you should’ve roasted him alive."</p><p>Elrond smirked, shaking his head.</p><p>"You’re a smug, useless bastard, Thranduil."</p><p>"Tell me something I don’t know already" the other elf grinned back at him.</p><p>Afterwards, Thrandy rose without a word and opened the freezer to grab another box of mouth-watering ice cream with a spoon from the dishwasher.</p><p>"Fortunately for you, I’ve recently met someone who’s full of valuable advices." He sat cross-legged before Elrond and handed over the cold box as he said: "Here goes one: that's not the end of you. You’ll figure that out."</p><p>"First, we need to figure <em>you</em> out. I hate to break it down to you, but your face won’t heal itself. Actually, it won’t ever heal."</p><p>"I’m aware of that" Thranduil said in a grave tone. "I’ll adjust to it. In time, I will."</p><p>"Let’s have a toast for that" Elrond raised his spoon. "To shitty-ass fathers!"</p><p>"Cheers!"</p><p>And the spoons clang with a mirthful sound.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun rose above Rivendell when Aragorn finally arrived at his temporary home. It was quite nice of Gimli and Legolas to let him stay at their comfy apartment after they'd found him at the smoldering wreckage, which was supposed to be his light corvette, in the middle of nowhere. The Wild Space was a perilous and unforgiving part of the known galaxy, and without Arwen, it would've stayed that way.</p><p>Aragorn had rejected to leave his girlfriend after that catastrophic meeting with his future father-in-law, but she'd insisted that she’d be alright, and her work shift had been approaching. With a heavy heart, Aragorn kissed Arwen goodbye and the two had departed for their own respective tasks.</p><p>Gimli was currently sitting at the dining table in the company of his morning beverage and cigar, plus his beloved pazaak deck laying scattered on the tabletop. The other, namely Legolas, was leaning casually against the cupboard, shirtless and sipping a healthy green. In the background, a radio – probably older than Aragorn himself – was playing the most popular hits of the current year.</p><p>"And the sodding bastard dared slap into my face I was bloody cheating!" Gimli pummeled into his palm passionately, cigar in mouth. "He-heey Gorny! Care to join us for an early game of pazaak?"</p><p>"9 a.m. can hardly be considered as early, sweetheart" Legolas noted, but as soon as Aragorn removed his hood, he averted his attention from the tattooed dwarf. "Your face is telling me that your meeting with Arwen didn't end well. May I ask what's happened?"</p><p>"I've met with her father" Aragorn blunted.</p><p>"Bloody Valinor…" Gimli mumbled in a hushed voice, putting his cigar down and reaching for the whiskey.</p><p>"My deepest condolences" Legolas patted Aragorn on the shoulder, pouting. "Let me pour you some tea." And so he did, giving Aragorn a sympathetic smile.</p><p>"Thanks, I needed that" the latter sighed as he accepted the mug. Its warmth helped him reconcile with the Force as it surged through him like a refreshing shower on Tatooine. <em>There is no emotion, there is peace.</em> "That crazed elf was adamant to wipe me out of existence. I recognize the look – I've seen it too many times in the eyes of the Sith. The dark desire for a kill."</p><p>"Elrond is no mindless murderer, but I have to agree that it's pretty much like him" the golden-haired elf sighed.</p><p>"Wanna borrow my axe?" Gimli offered, raising his eyebrow, but Aragorn rejected it as fast as he could.</p><p>"By the stars, I don't wish to murder my dear's father. That is beneath me."</p><p>"Meh. Have it your way, then."</p><p>"A part of me can relate to his murderous intent" Leggy added. "If I ever became a father, I'd be, to put it simply, rather pissed off finding out my daughter has a secret lover."</p><p>"But Elrond abandoned Arwen, not even bothering to send her a holomessage or a call. According to her, at least." Aragorn paused and gulped into his tea. "Why would he be so concerned about whom she shares her life with?"</p><p>"Or maybe he does care for her, no?" Gimli suggested as he was twirling his beard thoughtfully. "But doesn't have a damn idea on <em>how</em>."</p><p>Legolas frowned, dabbing on the clean surface of the mug with his thin but delicate fingers. Aragorn knew there was some level of estrangement between Leggy's father and him, but to a lesser extent than in Arwen's situation. Aragorn felt ashamed of his lack of knowledge on how real families worked. Having been raised by the Jedi Order on Tython, he had to scrap every concept of family in his head. Not long ago he'd considered it as an advantage, but now he was as dumbfounded as he'd been on his first day on this strange planet. Until he'd meet Arwen in the local hospital and she'd treated his wounds.</p><p>An alerting buzz broke the silence in the room.</p><p>"I think it's yours, hon" Gimli nodded towards Legolas, who searched for his transmitter on the cupboard with a surprised expression.</p><p>After reading the message displayed on the screen, he grew sickly pale.</p><p>"Bad news?" Aragorn asked, worried.</p><p>"No, it's okay" the elf waved dismissively. "But I've got to go now. I'll be back soon, and we can discuss the topic further. Don't you worry about Elrond. He won't like you, but he doesn't have to. You date his daughter, not him."</p><p>"Thanks… I guess." Aragorn rubbed his temple.</p><p>"Where are you going?" Gimli inquired. "Work?"</p><p>"Yes… military business."</p><p>The dwarf folded his arm around Leggy's waist as he was passing by him, and hugged him. So did the golden-haired, then he left for their wardrobe.</p><p>"I wonder what was in that message to disturb him so…" Aragorn mused, looking after the elf.</p><p>"Damn if I knew" Gimli shook his head. "A round of pazaak?"</p><p>Aragorn smiled.</p><p>"With pleasure."</p><p>However, Legolas didn't put on his shirt at once. With hands shaking, he stood frozen in his tracks as he stared at the shimmering screen of his transmitter. <em>Meet me at Lembas Café. It's about your father. B. </em></p><p>xxx</p><p>Legolas had been striding the streets of Rivendell for almost an hour by now, but he still couldn't find his inner peace again. In fact, he hadn't been able to find it since he'd got Bard's message that asked a meeting. And despite of the fact that Legolas hadn't seen his father in years, he was still concerned about his well-being. Bard said it was about Thranduil, so Legolas went without a question, but what he learnt only made him upset and distraught, and he didn't know what to do.</p><p>"Thank you for informing me" he said to the slicer and was about to get up and leave when Bard grabbed his arm, not hard enough to hurt him but still firmly to get his attention.</p><p>"You're his only family alive. You should at least visit him" Bard said, and Legolas felt like a little child being scolded for misbehaving.</p><p>"We'll see" the elf managed to choke out, then he jerked his arm free and left the building without looking back.</p><p>Since then, he was just walking the streets without any particular destination, lost in his thoughts.</p><p>He still remembered the times when all of them – him, his father, and his mother – were living together, more or less happily. His parents argued sometimes even back then, but it never seemed too bad for little Legolas; they always made peace after a while, and he knew that both of them loved him very much. Then on one terrible day, seemingly out of nothing, his mother left them after a nightmarish fight with Thranduil, leaving both of them in a state of utter shock. Legolas cried himself to sleep clinging to his father desperately that night.</p><p>After that, everything had changed. Thranduil was lost without his lover, and despite loving Legolas more than everything, he just couldn't find a way to effectively show it. Over the years, they became distant, estranged, and it damaged both of them even further. Thranduil left the Order, becoming a rogue and stepping on the path of crime, and Legolas was adamant to escape from this before it would've been too late. He knew he was a coward, not trying to help his father instead, but he simply didn't know how. So he left as well.</p><p>Since then, he'd tried to get things right with Thranduil a few times, but when Gimli came into the picture almost twenty years ago, everything just went doomed. Thranduil wasn't too enthusiastic about his son's partner, to put it nicely. Legolas hadn't heard much of his father since; until Bard came with those terrible news.</p><p>The young elf sighed and headed toward Thranduil's apartment; he knew he had to do this, but he wanted to do it as well. He just couldn't go home without making sure that his father was alive and well, given the circumstances.</p><p>Soon, he arrived at the reinforced front gate and let himself in with the security code Thranduil gave him the last time they talked. Fortunately, it was still working. He expected Elrond or Bard to escort him inside the house, but it seemed neither of them was at home at the moment. So Legolas walked up to the apartment's door, pushed the bell, and after a few moments of waiting, a sleepy Thranduil in sweatpants and a flannel shirt showed up. Then he realised slowly who was standing before him, and his eye widened in shock and disbelief.</p><p>Legolas could barely hold back a horrified gasp seeing his father's once eerily beautiful face. The right side of it was still perfect, with flawless, fair skin, but the other side was a ruin, even that small part of it that Legolas saw near to the edge of the bandages. There was a purplish-blue bruise on Thrandy's jaw, and Legolas spotted grazes and more bruises on his neck, their colourful line disappearing beneath the collar of the shirt he was wearing. Even with the bandages covering it, it was obvious that Thranduil's left eye was missing.</p><p>"Who did this to you?" Legolas asked as he felt white-hot anger filling him, and the desire for revenge was almost maddening.</p><p>Thranduil felt it, too, and he did the first thing that came to his mind, not even thinking, acting only on his instincts. He grabbed his son's hand and pulled him into a tight hug, unable to choke out a single word. After a moment, Legolas returned the hug, holding on to him desperately.</p><p>xxx</p><p>"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Elrond asked as he and Bard turned at the corner of a narrow, short street near to the centre of Rivendell.</p><p>"Not entirely, but Thrandy deserves some privacy with his son. We're not needed there, at least not now."</p><p>"Why are you so damn certain that the kid will show up?"</p><p>"Because Legolas is a good guy who cares for his own deeply, for one. And for two, I've left a micro-tracker on his shirt. He's already on his way to the house" Bard answered smugly, and Elrond couldn't hold back a laugh; that was so much Bard.</p><p>Meanwhile, they stepped into a modest building almost at the end of the street. It was a well-hidden weapon &amp; armoury shop, its exact location known only to the people the owner of the establishment trusted completely. Otherwise, he dealt with the customers online, choosing neutral places for delivery and payment.</p><p>"Hey there!" the shop-owner showed up, a very young-looking, all smile and cheer, dark-haired elf. "It's been a while."</p><p>"Hi, Celebrimbor" Bard smiled back, and Elrond waved with his hand friendly as well. "How're you, buddy? How's the shop going?"</p><p>"I can't complain" the elf shrugged, and a shadow ran across his features. "My so called family can leave me alone even for a week recently, before they begin it again. I guess it's an improvement."</p><p>Bard shook his head with a sigh; wherever he turned, he saw broken, dysfunctional families all around. It was really heartbreaking.</p><p>"But whatever. Can I help you with something?" Celebrimbor asked, his cheerful attitude returning quickly.</p><p>"Yeah, I need a few energy cells for my bow" Bard nodded, and the elf reached up to grab a box of the asked items on the shelf behind the counter.</p><p>"Here. Anything else?"</p><p>"Be very careful" Elrond said. "The dwarves are growing bolder in hunting down the rogues like us. Especially after the Erebor incident. And there's the matter of that motherfucker Glorfindel..."</p><p>"What do you mean by that?" Celebrimbor asked, swallowing hard as fear crept upon him slowly.</p><p>Lifting the rugged curtain, the older elf peered through the window, making sure no one was trying to eavesdrop or spy on them from the outside.</p><p>"About a week ago, Glorfindel set a trap for Thranduil, luring him into his mansion with the promise of protection from Thorin and his gang." Elrond was pacing around in the room as he talked with hands clapped behind his back. "But it turned out, as you might expect, that spineless arse was cooperating with the dwarves all along. He handed Thranduil over to Thorin, who tortured him to near death."</p><p>Celebrimbor stared at Elrond in wide-eyed disbelief.</p><p>"That's insane! Why would Glorfindel do such a thing? His responsibility is to maintain the balance of the Force, not breaking it."</p><p>"Apparently, he sees us as the breakers of the balance" the rogue sorcerer lowered his head.</p><p>"Bullshit! He can't just…" the young one exclaimed, only to be interrupted by the slicer.</p><p>"Language!"</p><p>"Sorry" Celeb said apologetically, the tips of his pointed ears turning red. "As I was saying, he can't just do whatever he wants. He answers to the White Council of the Order, doesn't he? You used to be a member, Elrond, you should probably address them."</p><p>"Nice call, kid" Bard praised him, although he was far younger than the elf to name him as such. "Surely, there's someone in the Council we can turn to. Old friends, alliances… Don't tell me every single member put you on their blacklists for leaving them."</p><p>"Funnily enough, that's exactly what they did after Celebrían had passed away" the dark-haired elf snorted disdainfully. "And the only person who didn’t isn’t influential enough within the Council to gain their full support against either Glorfindel or Thorin. What’s even more, I don’t think they’d believe him, either. Or me. They wouldn’t care if Thranduil was injured by those bastards."</p><p>"What about that Sage… Mithrandir or what you call him?" Bard proposed. "He gave you a hand once or twice."</p><p>"Not gonna work. He’s on a galactic pilgrimage somewhere in the system, and fuck knows when he returns. Believe me, I’ve tried to contact him before."</p><p>"There's gotta be some other way" the young elf blunted, his eyes blazing with the will to act. Never had he reminded Elrond of the boy’s grandfather so much before… and it was a compliment for a change.</p><p>"Listen up, kiddo" Elrond touched Celebrimbor by his massive shoulders with both hands, staring him in the eye with utmost sincerity. "I appreciate your courage, but you should stay out of this. All you have to do is to keep a low profile, so Thorin &amp; Co. can’t find you. Also, Glorfindel is a powerful Elven-lord and has connections everywhere in this damned city. It's only a matter of time until one of them finds out we're connected."</p><p>"I don’t only craft weapons, you know" Celeb replied with a bold smile. "I can handle some lowlife dwarves and other lapdogs sneaking about."</p><p>This didn’t calm the sorcerer, not even a bit. It didn’t require extraordinary senses to tell that the boy, deep inside, was afraid. His smile began fading quickly while his heart was hammering rapidly in his chest. Nonetheless, Elrond didn’t note this.</p><p>"Anyways, we don’t want to keep you busy. Just checking out if you’re… doing well."</p><p>"Thanks, guys." A broad smile lightened Celebrimbor’s features once again. "I appreciate it, really."</p><p>"And remember, stay safe and sound." Then Elrond and Bard bade a friendly farewell to Celebrimbor in the forms of several manly hugs, and left with the new energy cells for Downtown.</p><p>"Celeb is such a great kid" the slicer said on their way out from the alley. "I really don’t get it why his family doesn’t support him at all. He doesn’t deserve to live like this… you know what I mean."</p><p><em>Trading armaments illegally</em>, Elrond thought grimly. <em>Fate isn’t picky: it fucks up everything, even for the best of us.</em></p><p>"Yeah, it would be a great shame if something happened to him. And with this rate of luck, it surely will."</p><p>"I wish we could help him somehow" Bard sighed in regret.</p><p>Elrond was striding the dusty road, filled with discarded cans, mechanical waste and shit, in utter silence, when a probably insane idea struck him at last.</p><p>"In all likelihood, we actually can." <em>Let’s just hope Thrandy remembers who traded him those silver crystals…</em></p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was an ordinary day at Dock-1821 of the elvish port city, the Grey Havens. Círdan, nicknamed as ‘Shipwright’ by his friends and acquaintances, monitored the transfer of his goods to an old-fashioned XS Stock light freighter, owned by a human. He owned the place, after all, and that shit his people were currently packing into the ship’s cargo hold had cost him a fortune. Should the customer made any attempt to do something clever, his vibroblade was more than ready to teach him a lesson.</p><p>Resting his elbow on the handrail of the ramp above the dock, Círdan was smoking a light cigarette as he was listening to music, resembling a genre that humans generally referred to as ‘heavy metal’. He was content how the business went so far which earned a satisfied half-grin from the elf. Until Lindir showed up…</p><p>"Shit, you’re not playing fucking errand boy again, are you?" Círdan asked in a gruff voice, accompanying it with a sneer.</p><p>"My lord… Glorfindel…" Lindir could barely catch his breath. "He... is requesting an… audience with… you…"</p><p>"He’s here to talk, I get it. No need to be so overly formal."</p><p>"Understood, my lord" Lindir was nodding so swiftly Círdan was worried his head would just fly off. Oh wait, he wasn’t. "He is waiting for you in the entrance of the hangar."</p><p>Círdan rose his eyebrows in mild annoyance.</p><p>"Tell your slave-driver, euphemised as lord, if he wants a deal, he’ll get it at my fucking office. Clear?"</p><p>"As the stars, my lord."</p><p>Círdan just watched with barely hidden contempt as Lindir hurried away to carry the message to Glorfindel. The ship-dealer was sick of these elegant, posh, uptight, miserable excuses of elves. And what bothered him even more was that Glorfindel, being at least two millennia younger than he was, still thought that he could, and tried relentlessly as well, to push Círdan around. Since they both were on the White Council, Círdan couldn't simply tell him to fuck off, much to his utmost dismay. He growled in utter dissatisfaction as he left the bay and headed toward his office to meet with that whiny blonde princess. Whatever that bitch wanted from him, Círdan was adamant he would get it only over his dead, rotting body.</p><p>The elf pulled his long, sand-coloured hair into a messy ponytail and checked the knives hidden in his boots before he stepped into his office. Glorfindel and Lindir were already there, the latter retreated into the nearest corner while his slave-master, oh pardon, employer, was waiting in the middle of the room as if he owned the place. Círdan wanted to strangle him with his own ridiculously long hair.</p><p>"Your... assistant told me you want to cut a deal. Spit it out!" he said, skipping any formalities; he simply didn't have the stomach for polite small talk, not especially with this little princess.</p><p>Glorfindel looked at him, his cold eyes measuring him up and finding him unworthy. Then Círdan felt a tingling at the back of his mind, and his metaphorical sirens wailed in unison and so fucking loudly that his ears almost began ringing. The motherfucker tried to invade his mind, but in that case, he was up to some really unpleasant surprises. Círdan had never been officially a part of the Order; his seat on the Council was the result of his <em>unique</em> talent to acquire things no one else could, thus becoming the Order's main supplier when it came to rare artefacts and weapons, not to mention the ton of money the Order owed him because of the loans Círdan provided for them during the centuries. He received minimal formal Force-training during his long life, but as a pirate and dealer, he'd learnt a few very useful tricks. For example, how to shield his mind so tightly that not even the Grand Master of the Jedi Order would've been able to penetrate it. Círdan slammed these shields into place, blocking everything that happened outside of his mind on the psychic plane. However, that meant that he was cut off from his bonds with everybody who could've helped him if the situation here had gone sour.</p><p>He used Glorfindel's obvious surprise at the failed attempt to his own advantage and grabbing him by his throat, he smashed the blonde against the desk, pressing one of his knives into his too pretty face.</p><p>"Try this ever again, and I'm gonna give you a nice, wide, red smile. Clear, kid?" Círdan growled menacingly into the other's ear, merely from an inch.</p><p>Lindir watched the whole thing from the corner, frozen and in complete shock; Círdan merely counted him as a decoration of the room right now, he knew very well that this shitball of anxiety and misery wouldn't lift a finger in such a situation. And Glorfindel knew that, too. The whiny bitch, however haughty and overconfident he was, was perfectly aware that here, right now, he was in a fight he couldn't hope to win. Círdan was much older than him, a first-class swordsman, and seemingly immune to any kind of attack aimed at his mind. In fact, Glorfindel had never encountered such powerful shields before, not amongst the elves or any other species.</p><p>"I suggest you, then, to let go of me so we can continue on our separate ways" he said, offensively calmly, given the current circumstances.</p><p>That only made Círdan suspicious of that sneaky bastard's plans and goals, but for it would've been highly frowned upon if he'd just killed that bitch here and now, he couldn't do anything else but let him go indeed.</p><p>"And I suggest you to get the fuck out of this place, as soon as possible. It would be a shame if... something happened to you" Círdan muttered with a dangerous glint in his amber eyes.</p><p>Glorfindel and Lindir left as fast as they could without looking like they were running, but not before shooting a murderous gaze at Círdan, who just smirked at them, barely keeping himself from raising his middle finger as a parting gesture. When the pair disappeared from his line of sight, he sighed and leaned against the door of his office. The blonde bitch was up to something no good, he was sure of that. Perhaps it was time to visit Rivendell again.</p><p>xxx</p><p>"Hey, we're home!" Bard shouted when he and Elrond got back to the house.</p><p>"Kitchen" came Thrandy's answer, and his voice sounded much happier than at any given time lately.</p><p>Sure enough, they found the blonde elf sitting at the table and eating ice cream, but not like Elrond did it. Thrandy clearly enjoyed it, licking the spoon enthusiastically.</p><p>"Not that I'm not glad you're in such a merry mood, but what happened?" asked the sorcerer curiously.</p><p>"Legolas dropped by. We've managed to get through some of our... difficulties."</p><p>"Well, that's great news!" Bard grinned.</p><p>"Thank you" Thrandy looked up at him. "He told me that it was you who've made him visit me."</p><p>"You're very welcome, buddy. I'm happy I could help" the slicer said as he hugged the elf quickly. "But we'd like to speak with you about something."</p><p>"I'm all ears" Thrandy nodded, digging up some more ice cream as Elrond and Bard sat down at the table as well, facing him.</p><p>"It's about... helping somebody" Bard began while Elrond got a spoon as well and decided to help Thranduil defeat the evil ice cream by eating it together. Thrandy appreciated the help. "You remember Celebrimbor, right?"</p><p>"Yeah. The kid who sold me my crystals."</p><p>"Exactly. And given the current situation, it's only a matter of time for Glorfindel or these fucking dwarves to find out he knows us. They'd torture him like they tortured you. And we can't let it happen" Elrond said.</p><p>"You want me to... what, exactly?" Thrandy asked, not hostile but definitely suspicious.</p><p>"To let him moving in here. We have enough rooms, and he needs a place that's well-defended and able to protect him. That hole above his shop is nothing. It doesn't even have a high-security door" Bard explained.</p><p>Thranduil leaned back, twisting his spoon between his fingers absentmindedly as he thought it over. He wouldn't claim he knew Celebrimbor well, but as far as he could tell, the kid was all right.</p><p>"Fine. He can get one of the bedrooms upstairs" he finally nodded.</p><p>"Really?" Bard raised his eyebrows in surprise.</p><p>"Your human ears heard it right. He can move in."</p><p>This statement urged Bard to literally jump at Thranduil to embrace him with such intensity that it made the elf gasp for air.</p><p>"Hold on" Elrond chuckled mirthfully. "He’s just got better and you want to hug him to death?"</p><p>Blinking awkwardly, Bard released Thrandy, who stared at him, pretending a stern look.</p><p>"Umm, sorry about that."</p><p>After the permission was granted, Bard and Elrond called Celebrimbor on holocomm to tell him the good news. There was no doubt the young elf would be over the moon as soon as he was invited to live with his only friends. And so he was. The next morning was spent with transporting Celeb’s tools and personal belongings to the stronghold. Thranduil allowed the crafter to establish a tiny smithy in the garage where there was plenty of room besides storing speeders, junk and other miscellaneous objects.</p><p>It turned out quickly – meaning in the first few hours after packing – that Celebrimbor wasn’t too intrusive by nature. Or perhaps at all was a far more appropriate phrase. In the next blissfully eventless days, his roommates bumped into him only on rare occasions, mostly in the kitchen, when Celeb had finally realized what the grumbling of his stomach actually meant. At some point, Elrond couldn’t help but shook his head disapprovingly.</p><p>"If you go on like this, you’ll fade into thin air" he noted, looking up from the news on holonet.</p><p>"That’s one way to put it" Bard added, munching on his cereals.</p><p>"For fuck’s sake, close your mouth while eating" Thranduil scolded the latter, heading for the fridge in his unbelievably silky and comfortable robes that revealed his toned chest.</p><p>"Hey!" Bard huffed, irritated. "Look who’s talking!"</p><p>An ear-to-ear smile played on Celeb’s lips.</p><p>"Well, if energy cells created themselves, I’d be the happiest elf on this planet. Or maybe not." However, a high-pitched beeping broke into the casual conversation. "Are we expecting someone or what?" the dark-haired elf asked, frowning.</p><p>"Maybe it’s your son" Bard looked at Thrandy furtively.</p><p>"Nah. I don’t think so."</p><p>"I’ll check the console" Elrond stirred and hurried to the aforementioned object, which provided him a perfect holographic picture of their late-night visitor.</p><p>It was an extravagantly dressed elf with long, sand-coloured hair and a rebellious beard. But in the end, it was his bad temper that made him unmistakeable to Elrond – he could sense his irritation whirling about him like a raging tempest.</p><p>"Why is it so fucking hard to get into this place?" the bearded elf growled in a hoarse, deep voice, punching the device on the wall.</p><p>Grimacing, Elrond considered themselves awfully lucky that it was he who had come to answer the door.</p><p>"Why don’t you come in instead of tearing us into shreds?" he said, activating the entrance doors so the visitor could enter the building.</p><p>"Who was that?" Celebrimbor asked, blinking at Elrond as innocently as a newborn bantha.</p><p>"An old friend" the sorcerer stated as Círdan’s shouting echoed through the various rooms of the gigantic house.</p><p>"What kind of a bullshit maze do you live in?"</p><p>"Shit" Thranduil sighed. "Can someone fetch him before he gets lost?"</p><p>"On my way." Bard put aside his humble dinner and left to find Círdan.</p><p>It took him several minutes, but he eventually returned with the ship-dealer on his left.</p><p>"Damn you, guys" Círdan spat. "That’s how you greet a good ol’ pal?"</p><p>"You’ve been in my stronghold for about five minutes" Thranduil squinted at him, wearing his own equivalent of the resting bitch face. "And I’ve already got a big, fat headache from you."</p><p>"Was that some kind of a weird compliment?" Celebrimbor mumbled to himself, rather than the others around him.</p><p>"Good to see you too, Thrandy. It’s been…" Then Círdan halted with all colour draining from his face. "What the… what the freaking Force happened to you?!"</p><p>"Now, that was discreet" Bard rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Just shut up, human" Círdan snapped. "I was talking to Thrandy."</p><p>In the next moment, all people in the kitchen, except Círdan, seemed to draw a deep and troubled breath as a single person.</p><p>"Long story" Thranduil finally broke the silence, his voice suddenly became raw with fury and despair.</p><p>Eventually, it was Elrond who gave an account of the events of the last week or so to Círdan, whose eyes were gradually filling with murderous intent.</p><p>"Now that makes sense…" Círdan hissed after Elrond finished the story. "I know there was a reason behind that oozy smile of his."</p><p>"Heh?" the slicer stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. "What makes sense? Who are you talking about?"</p><p>"Motherfucking Glorfindel, of course! That blonde bitch dared show his face in my port, and while we were bargaining he tried to read my thoughts. I’ve come here to warn you about his petty plotting, but it just seems he’s already achieved what he wanted."</p><p>"Or not" the sorcerer interrupted him. "It’s most likely that he wanted to obtain our whereabouts from your thoughts because he knows we’re acquainted. Good thing you deflected him before he could do that."</p><p>"Deflected, huh?" Círdan mused with a cruel smile. "I made him and his butt-munching whore run for their miserable lives. His little mind tricks won’t work on me. On the other hand... No offense, but I highly doubt you are as resistant to them as I am. Especially the human and the kid. Face it, Elrond, you can’t just lock them up until Morgoth finds his balls again and comes down to wreak havoc on Arda."</p><p>Rising his index finger, Bard was about to object that he wasn’t actually restricted to the area of the stronghold, but he decided against it.</p><p>"Damn true" Thranduil nodded. "And this is why we need your help."</p><p>"Anytime, guys. Just tell me what sort of help you need without getting my ass busted out of this city for another eternity."</p><p>"First, it’s imperative for us to prepare for a possible encounter" Thranduil clasped his hands behind his back, determined. As Elrond listened to him speaking, his heart swelled with pride; this was the Thranduil he knew for centuries. "So, if you don’t mind, we ask you to train us how to block Glorfindel’s mind tricks."</p><p>"Well, well…" Círdan cleared his throat. "It sounds like a feasible plan. But you gonna pay me, right? I have to make a living somehow."</p><p>"But you do make a living, you old bastard" Elrond argued, but Thrandy interrupted him with a wave of hand.</p><p>"By all means. You’ll be compensated for your service. Just… leave my shit intact, okay?"</p><p>"Don’t worry, I won’t stay here babysitting you. I’ll rent a hotel room if I have to."</p><p>"Thanks a lot, Círdan. It’s much appreciated."</p><p>"Oh, come now!" the bearded elf walked up to Thrandy to give him a friendly pat on the back. "Don’t get emotional on me."</p><p>"Now, what’s next?" Celebrimbor finally took the courage to speak up. "We can’t let him leave without a sandwich at least."</p><p>Bard, who had resumed to his dinner in the meantime, almost choked on a handful of cereal.</p><p>"That’s what I wanted to hear!" Círdan let out a hearty laughter. "Don’t you have something to drink by chance? Whiskey or something?"</p><p>"We don’t really drink, you know" Thrandy twisted his mouth.</p><p>"Still not? What a pity. Nothing’s better than a drunk Force-storm at midnight in the middle of fucking nowhere. Am I right, Elrond?"</p><p>"A what?" Celeb asked in utter astonishment.</p><p>"Mmm, okay" Bard hummed awkwardly as his palms covered Celeb’s pointed ears. "It’s high time for you to stop listening to them, I think."</p><p>"But I’m no longer a child!"</p><p>"Believe me, their old stories are not for adults either."</p><p>So it happened that the rest of night was filled with roaring laughter and the stories of three elven scoundrels who had desired nothing but to mess this shit of a galaxy up like there had been no tomorrow.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Círdan didn't waste his time, the next day he began teaching Thrandy and his little company how to shield their minds from possible attacks. Elrond, as a sorcerer, of course excelled at it, however, he was the only one. Both Thranduil and Celebrimbor had difficulties with the technique, and in Bard's case, they needed to come up with a different approach altogether, due to him not being a Force-sensitive.</p><p>"Well, that's not too good..." Elrond sighed as he heard Thranduil vomiting because of the migraine the learning session caused him, and Celebrimbor outright passed out; Bard carried him into his room and was still with him.</p><p>"At this rate, you're the only one who can put up a decent fight against that motherfucker" Círdan muttered. "So they either get themselves together and learn it, or little blonde princess Glorfy will eat their brains for breakfast."</p><p>Elrond just grimaced but didn't comment that otherwise.</p><p>"I'll go and check on Thrandy, would you make us something to eat?"</p><p>"Sure, kid" Círdan nodded, heading toward the kitchen.</p><p>Elrond smiled gratefully and left to find Thranduil. The blonde elf was kneeling in the bathroom and wiped his sweaty face with shaking hands.</p><p>Elrond crouched down next to him and touched his back gently.</p><p>"Better?" he asked.</p><p>"A bit" Thrandy groaned, his voice hoarse and painful. "You know... I'd be so fucking grateful if you just used your powers and make it disappear altogether..."</p><p>"Your wish is my command" Elrond chuckled and did as Thrandy asked.</p><p>"Now, that's what I'm talking about" Thranduil commented when his pain eased to manageable levels.</p><p>"You're welcome" Elrond grinned back, then they walked to the kitchen together to get something to eat.</p><p>Soon, Bard joined them, delivering the news that Celebrimbor was finally awake and fine, he just wanted to rest.</p><p>"I'll bring something for him later" the slicer decided as he, too, settled at the table.</p><p>"Then we'll continue tomorrow, I guess" Círdan stated, and the others agreed.</p><p>Not long after he ate something as well, Círdan left the stronghold, leaving his friends to rest.</p><p>Next morning, before Círdan would've arrived, Bard called Elrond and Thranduil to his room to speak with them.</p><p>"What is it that can't wait?" Elrond asked, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.</p><p>Bard felt a pang of guilt seeing that; Elrond was known for his issues with sleeping, and he didn't mean to disturb him when he finally did sleep more or less normally. Thrandy didn't say a word just looked at the slicer expectantly.</p><p>"An hour ago, I intercepted a message from the Royal Palace. It's asking for help, but... the creepy thing is that it's asking me specifically. I just wanted to know what do you think we should do."</p><p>There was a few minutes of silence, then Elrond spoke up, still sounding somewhat half-asleep.</p><p>"Do we even know anybody in the Royal Palace?" he asked, blinking at Thranduil, who just shrugged.</p><p>"I definitely don't. But perhaps Círdan does."</p><p>"'Kay..." Elrond sighed, then he sprawled on Bard's bed, face-down, and in the next moment, he was snoring peacefully into the pillow.</p><p>Bard just blinked, completely baffled, but Thrandy stood up, grabbing his arm and leading him toward the kitchen.</p><p>"Let's get some breakfast, shall we?"</p><p>Bard cast a last glance at Elrond then followed the other elf. These Pointy Ears could be quite unpredictable sometimes, but he'd got used to them in the years they'd been friends and wasn't surprised of anything anymore.</p><p>About an hour later, Círdan arrived, and since Elrond had already mastered the shielding technique, the pirate decided to let him sleep while he was teaching the others. At Thranduil's nudges, Bard told Círdan the story of the mysterious message, but he was as baffled at it as the hacker was.</p><p>"I have no damn idea" the elf shrugged. "But I'd give it a chance, it can be a powerful ally, even."</p><p>"Or it can be a trap" Bard muttered, but Thranduil shook his head.</p><p>"I don't sense danger" he said. "Be careful, obviously, but it's not a trap, I'm sure of it."</p><p>Bard knew that Force-sensitives were generally reliable when it came to such things, but they definitely weren't infallible; and the last thing they needed was another incident like the one was with that motherfucker Glorfindel.</p><p>"The royal family has no ties to Glorfindel, or to the Order itself" Círdan added, as if he had seen Bard's thoughts. "There's a pretty small chance of betrayal."</p><p>"Alright, then, you convinced me. I'm gonna find out who's that mysterious messenger" the hacker nodded, retreating to his room to answer the strange plea for help.</p><p>xxx</p><p>A few hours later, Bard found himself in the Lembas Café, the same place where he'd met with Legolas, searching for a young elf in dark blue hoodie. He did spot someone fitting the description, sitting at the other end of the room and cuddling a big cup of drink. As far as Bard could tell, it was hot chocolate with a whipped cream topping; so now he at least knew that the mysterious elf had a sweet tooth.</p><p>The hacker neared the elf's table then sat opposite of him. The elf looked up from his drink and pushed his hood back a little, so Bard could see his face. He looked awfully young, 17 or 18 in human years, however, he must've been somewhere around a hundred; elves matured much slower than humans. The colour of his eyes matched his hoodie's, and jetblack strands of hair fell into his forehead. Bard saw a stuffed backpack next to the kid, and for some reason, it gave him a bad feeling about this whole business.</p><p>"Going somewhere?" he asked the elf, arching a curious eyebrow.</p><p>The kid just shrugged, seeming indecisive.</p><p>"You're Bard, the hacker, right?" he asked back, now with a hopeful expression on his face. "I thought you'd never answer me..."</p><p>"How the hell did you even find me, kid?" Bard demanded, a bit harsher than he meant to.</p><p>The elf instinctively jerked back, raising his shoulders defensively; and Bard felt like an asshole for scaring him so. He was just a kid.</p><p>"It's okay, I won't bite. Sorry. But still, I need to know."</p><p>"Well, I've been into hacking and coding for a while, and one day I found something interesting in the law enforcement database... Remnants of an eraser code. Later I learned that there was only one man who could get into that system: a hacker named Bard. I've been trying to find you for months."</p><p>"And how did you manage it?"</p><p>"Reverse-engineering your eraser code and getting back to its very source."</p><p>Bard had to admit that he was beyond impressed by the boy's skills; and he was still just a teen. Who knew what else he could achieve with proper training?</p><p>"I think I didn't catch your name, kid."</p><p>"Gil-Galad. I... I'm the son of the High King. And I want to get the fuck away from that" the elf said with a determination Bard rarely saw even in adults. He instantly knew that changing his mind was impossible; but there was still one question.</p><p>"Look, Gil... May I call you that?" Gil nodded, and Bard continued. "I have no idea what you must've gone through to reach that decision, and it's not my business, either. However, I don't completely understand how I can help you."</p><p>"Let me stay with you. Teach me to be a hacker like you. I'm good at it, you know that. After all, I've found you" Gil said with a shaky attempt of a confident smile.</p><p>He looked so very young... and so very desperate. Bard had a feeling that Gil would leave his old life behind, whether he would take him in or not, fleeing the city alone and ending up who knew where. In the light of the recent events, there was a quite high chance of him running into someone he really shouldn't; like Thorin and his bunch, who'd definitely hurt him just for the fun of it. And if it was up to the slicer, he wasn't going to let it happen. <em>I'm gonna regret it one day...</em>, Bard thought, but then nodded.</p><p>"Alright, Gil. Make sure you keep up" the hacker said, then he stood up and left the building, with the young prince following him closely.</p><p>He didn't dare imagine what the others would say when he'd get back with his rather unlikely apprentice in tow.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>While walking back to Bard's house – at least Gil-Galad assumed they were heading there – the elf could barely fight the urge to look back over his shoulder in every other minute.</p><p>"I'll help you to disappear and begin anew" Bard said, noticing Gil's nervousness. "If that's what you want."</p><p>"It is" the elf replied grimly, but he didn't say more.</p><p>Bard hoped that one day, Gil would trust him enough to share his pain with him; and he also hoped that he'd be able to help him through it.</p><p>"You'll be safe with me" the slicer promised, surprised by how much he meant it.</p><p>Gil seemed like a good kid, and it wasn't his fault to where he was born. Bard had no doubts that the royal family wasn't all cheers and fun, and they had their own problems. Apparently, these problems were so bad that the prince decided to leave, finding him in the process. Bard had never been in such a strange situation in his entire life, but he was determined to get through it, as he'd been getting through everything else so far.</p><p>About half an hour later, they arrived at a two-story apartment; or more like a small mansion or a stronghold. Gil instantly noticed the reinforced front gate and the booby-traps in the garden as they walked through it; that place was definitely well-defended, and it made him feel somewhat safer already.</p><p>"It's your house?" he asked Bard, but the slicer shook his head.</p><p>"I live here, yes, but the place's not mine. It's Thranduil's" he said while opening the door and letting Gil go inside. "A very good friend of mine" he added, seeing the elf's questioning expression. "You'll meet him soon enough, and the others, too. Don't be afraid, go."</p><p>Gil obeyed, walking in slowly, wanting to stay as close to Bard as he could without looking like an absolute coward. Soon, they entered the kitchen, where two elves were sitting and destroying a bucket of ice cream with obvious pleasure. One of them looked wild and dangerous, with sharp amber eyes and a long mess of dark sand-coloured hair pulled back into a ponytail. He even had a neat full beard, making him look all the more exotic in Gil's eyes. The elf seemingly preferred leather clothes, as much for the sake of fancy as for protection; Gil spotted the knives hidden in his boots.</p><p>The other elf was a blonde one as well, but it was the silvery kind of blonde, almost with an otherwordly glow to it. It was beautiful, however, the horrible injury on the elf's face took away all kind of awe Gil may have had toward this beauty. He didn't want to stare so he looked down instead, examining the floor and his dirty boots.</p><p>"Well, well... The mysterious messenger, if I'm not mistaken" the bearded elf said, standing up and walking to the pair of Gil and Bard; the slicer was behind his apprentice's back now, patting his shoulder encouragingly.</p><p>The fact that seemingly everyone was taller than him somewhat annoyed Gil; even Bard, a human, had an inch on him, and he had to raise his head a bit to look the other elf in the eye.</p><p>"Don't worry, you'll grow some more, kid. What's your name?"</p><p>"Gil-Galad. Or just Gil, if it's more comfortable. And yours?" Gil asked back, trying to figure out if the other was reading his thoughts or not; that off-handed sentence about his height made him suspicious.</p><p>"I'm Círdan, and my buddy here's Thranduil."</p><p>Gil accepted the offered hand and shook it, returning Círdan's smile shyly.</p><p>However, the moment was interrupted by a sigh from Thranduil.</p><p>"Bard..." he began, casting an exasperated look at the slicer; and even with only one eye, it was quite convincing.</p><p>"I took him in as my apprentice" Bard said quickly. "I'll teach him, and he'll take my place when the time comes."</p><p>At the last sentence, a painful expression ran over Thrandy's face. Bard noticed it, and stepping to the elf, he stroked his arms then took his hands into his own, squeezing them comfortingly. The moment between them was so intimate Gil wished he'd been somewhere else right now.</p><p>"I'm a human. I won't be here forever, however much I want to. And I want to make sure you'll have the same help after... well, you know. Or maybe even better; as it turned out, Gil's incredibly talented."</p><p>Thranduil swallowed hard and took a deep breath before nodding. Bard let go of his hand after a last squeeze and stepped back.</p><p>"It's gonna be okay" he said quietly.</p><p>"Fine" Thranduil answered, his voice barely above a whisper.</p><p>In that moment, they heard footsteps, and soon enough, another elf showed up, clearly roused from a nap. He wore only a T-shirt and sweatpants, and his half-long dark hair was a tousled mess around his face.</p><p>"Good morning, Elrond" Círdan greeted him with a savage grin and a healthy dose of sarcasm.</p><p>Said elf just raised his middle finger casually, not even bothering with a verbal answer. He dropped at the table and as if it was perfectly normal, he continued the ice cream Thranduil and Círdan left there. Since both of them, and even Bard, burst out laughing, Gil guessed it was indeed a normal, everyday occurrence no one got upset about.</p><p>"And you are?" Elrond asked suddenly, looking up from the ice cream he was destroying and staring straight at Gil.</p><p>His voice was deep and still a bit raspy with a long sleep, but his stormy grey eyes were anything but sleepy as they measured up the guest. Gil suddenly found it hard to keep the eye contact with Elrond, so he dropped his gaze, but not for long. There was something in the other elf that just made him want to look at him, a desire he couldn't fight. So he didn't fight it, silently drinking in the sight of Elrond's face. He had a rough face for an elf, all sharp features, and the days-old stubble wasn't helping that. If he hid his ears, he could've easily passed as a human.</p><p>However, it was the intensity of his eyes that captivated Gil the most. Elrond's eyes were always full of emotions, and that ever-present, haunted storm was almost dizzying. And although Gil wasn't a trained Force-user – his skills with the Force were just the very basics every elf had –, even he could sense the tremendous power Elrond wielded; and he knew that should he decided to hurt him, he'd be dead faster than light speed.</p><p>"He's my apprentice, Gil" Bard answered when Elrond started getting a bit impatient. "He'll take my place when it'll be the time for him to do so."</p><p>Gil saw the same expression on Elrond's face that Thrandy had when Bard mentioned it; it was obvious that both elves were very close to the slicer, and even the mere thought of losing him caused them pain. Eventually though, Elrond, just like Thranduil, accepted Bard's choice.</p><p><em>This is just far too easy, isn’t it</em>, Gil thought sombrely. <em>Too smooth so far. Convenient. Or it’s just me and my doubts to always expect the worst? Or maybe they’ve gone deep in some serious trouble and they’re willing to use my skills to sort it out. There’s an odd sense of mischief about this bunch.</em></p><p>Then he decided he didn’t give a damn. All he wanted was to break out of his gilded cage, to get rid of his parents and their impossible expectations. Plus, Bard and his elven friends seemed alright in spite of their… shadiness.</p><p>After the introductions, Bard showed him around in Thranduil’s fortified mansion. The tour ended by the garage, and Gil's sharp ears picked up sounds of mechanical crackling coming from its direction.</p><p>"Oh, I almost forgot" the human continued absentmindedly. "We have another... <em>refugee</em> here, so to speak." Then he hurried between the plentiful vehicles to stop by a door leading into a small workshop. "Gil, meet Celebrimbor."</p><p>However, the other dark-haired elf didn’t turn around to face his visitors, so focused he was on his current work. Bard smirked and cleared his throat.</p><p>"Um, Celeb?"</p><p>Eventually, a startled shout left Celebrimbor’s lips.</p><p>"By the stars! Sorry… I was just–"</p><p>"I know, I know. No need to explain" Bard patted his shoulder casually. "So, this is Celebrimbor. He's a crafter and an arms-dealer."</p><p>Despite all of his efforts, Gil-Galad couldn’t help but chuckle nervously. He was ashamed of his impolite reaction, but in all likelihood, Celebrimbor was in much greater distress.</p><p>"Nice first impressions, really" the young elf mumbled.</p><p>"No worries, I’m a hacker." Gil gave him one of his friendliest smile and dearly hoped he’d managed to lighten up the mood.</p><p>Celebrimbor offered a shaky smile in return. By his looks, he seemed around the same age as Gil, but his green eyes held a meaningful look that indicated he just might be wiser than his years.</p><p>"But we don’t mean to keep you busy" Bard added hastily. "Come, Gil, I’m sure it was a long day of excitement for you. Let’s settle in for now."</p><p>Gil hoped for an own room, if he wanted to be completely honest, but didn't have the nerve to ask for it. So he just let Bard to lead him upstairs and show him his new room.</p><p>"It's all yours" the slicer said, patting his back comfortingly. "It's not much, I guess you're used to something much bigger and fancier, but..."</p><p>"It's perfect" Gil interrupted his new teacher, and he meant it. "I like it."</p><p>"Great. I'll get you a few pillows and a blanket... Do you need anything else?"</p><p>"Towels, perhaps... I don't know" Gil shrugged, and Bard nodded.</p><p>"Right. Make yourself at home!" With that, the slicer left him alone, and Gil looked around.</p><p>The room indeed wasn't much, a bed, a desk with two chairs and a wardrobe were all the furniture. His window faced the mountains, mostly, but he could see a small part of Rivendell as well. He had his own bathroom, and he instantly saw that the days of having nice, long hot baths were over, for the place only had a shower cabin.</p><p><em>Oh well</em>, Gil thought, shrugging.<em> It could be worse. </em></p><p>About half an hour later, Bard came back, bringing the things he promised and a few sandwiches as well.</p><p>"I thought you might be hungry."</p><p>"Thanks" Gil smiled shyly, accepting the offered food.</p><p>Bard looked like he wanted to say something else but then changed his mind and left the room after a last friendly smile. Gil finished eating, took a shower, then wanted to sleep some, however, it proved to be much more difficult than he'd have thought, given how tired he felt in the last few weeks. He'd been trying for a few hours, but then around midnight, he gave up. Moreover, he got hungry again, so perhaps it was time to make his first errand alone in his new home.</p><p>The stronghold was silent and mostly shrouded in darkness; however, small, dim lights on the walls gave just enough light for Gil to not land on his face. He walked downstairs with silent steps, careful not to wake anyone up accidentally. His sharp ears picked up the sound of snoring from one of the rooms upstairs, he assumed it was Bard; elves weren't known for snoring in their sleep.</p><p>When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard some noises and saw soft light pouring out of the common room as well, and as it turned out, it was Elrond. The sorcerer was reading a book, huddled in the corner of the couch and wrapped in his favourite blanket, munching on some biscuits.</p><p>"Troubled sleeping, kid?" he asked when Gil tried to sneak past him toward the kitchen.</p><p>Gil swallowed hard when the older elf looked up from his book and pinned him with his intent gaze but managed to nod anyway.</p><p>"I'm a bit hungry, actually" he muttered, embarrassed.</p><p>"There's milk in the fridge. And you can have the rest of my cookies if you want" Elrond offered, and Gil felt his cheeks a bit too hot suddenly.</p><p>"Uh, thank you..."</p><p>Gil was glad to continue his way to the kitchen where he got a glass of milk then walked back to Elrond, who, being true to his word, gave him the cookies he didn't eat.</p><p>"There's more than enough room for both of us" Elrond said when he noticed Gil's reluctance to sit down next to him on the couch. "You don't need to eat standing."</p><p>Gil settled down, being careful to keep his distance from the sorcerer. Not that he was afraid of him – <em>Who am I kidding, of course I'm afraid of him, anyone in his right mind would be!</em> –, but he didn't want to annoy Elrond while the other was reading.</p><p>"So, Gil..." Elrond spoke up suddenly, and Gil almost choked on his cookie. "What are you running from?"</p><p>The young elf risked a side-glance at Elrond but quickly turned back to his food.</p><p>"From my life... mostly. My so-called family" he finally answered, not being too eager to discuss this topic with someone he barely knew yet.</p><p>Elrond must've felt it because he was seemingly content with that answer, but Gil saw in his eyes that he was still curious, maybe suspicious, even.</p><p>"Don't worry... I won't force you to spill out all of your painful secrets" Elrond sighed when he sensed the waking fear in the other elf.</p><p>"But you could do that. You have the power for it" Gil muttered, knowing perfectly well that he was no match for Elrond, in any way.</p><p>"Yeah, I could, but I have no intention to do it. Besides, you have to be fucked up in a very specific way to hurt kids, and even though I'm definitely fucked up, but not like this. You have no reason to fear me, Gil" Elrond said, trying for an encouraging smile.</p><p>He in fact had a nice smile, still, Gil didn't yet know if he was relieved or even more scared. He finished his cookies and milk then after a whispered 'good night', he escaped back into his room.</p>
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